A Troll in Central Park
Encyclopedia
A Troll in Central Park (also known as Stanley's Magic Garden) is a 1994 animated feature-length film directed by Don Bluth
and Gary Goldman
, creators of films such as Thumbelina
, The Land Before Time
, and All Dogs Go to Heaven
. It was released on October 7, 1994 by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
.
The film features the voice talents of Dom DeLuise
as Stanley, Phillip Glasser
as Gus, Tawny Sunshine Glover
as Rosie, Cloris Leachman
as Queen Gnorga, Hayley Mills
as Hilary, Jonathan Pryce
as Alan and Charles Nelson Reilly
as King Llort. It is the last Don Bluth film to star Dom DeLuise. The film did very poorly at the box office and was widely panned by critics.
named Stanley (Dom DeLuise
) resides. Stanley has a magical green thumb that can make precious, beautiful flowers appear with a mere touch. Unfortunately, flowers are not allowed in the Kingdom of Trolls, forcing Stanley to hide any flowers he creates. In his house, Stanley speaks to his sentient flowers of his desire to complete his flower collection with a rose bush. That day, the other trolls become suspect of Stanley and take him to Gnorga (Cloris Leachman
), the Queen of the Trolls. Upon analyzing Stanley, Gnorga concludes that Stanley gives a bad name to trolls everywhere and demands that he be turned to stone. However, her husband consort, Llort (Charles Nelson Reilly
), suggests that they instead banish Stanley to "a place of rock and steel where nothing grows". Gnorga immediately complies and sends Stanley off to Central Park
. After many mishaps in New York, Stanley hides himself under a bridge.
Meanwhile, in a Manhattan apartment, two children named Gus and Rosie (Phillip Glasser
and Tawny Sunshine Glover
) get ready to have some fun with their father (Jonathan Pryce
) at Central Park, but he tells his son that he has a trial he's preparing for in a court, much to Gus's anger. Gus then asks his mother (Hayley Mills
) to take him, but she tells him that she's going to an open house on Park Avenue
today. Both Alan and Hilary said goodbye and leave Gus and his baby sister Rosie with their nanny, Maria. Eventually, Gus quietly leaves the apartment, taking Rosie on his wagon with him to Central Park. While playing with Gus's toy boat, the kids accidentally find Stanley hidden in the cave under the bridge in Central Park, and he befriends them. When Gus tries to force Rosie to come home with him, Rosie begins to cry, which attracts the attention of Queen Gnorga. When she discovers that Stanley isn't miserable, she puts a spell on Gus that causes him to cry a raging sea to drown them all. Stanley saves the kids and himself by using his green thumb to turn Gus's toy motorboat into a larger boat for the trio and the talking flowers to ride in.
Queen Gnorga decides to destroy Stanley's happiness once and for all by obliterating Central Park with a rampant tornado. As Rosie and Gus decide to go home upon discovering the destruction, Gnorga arrives to kidnap Rosie. Gus goes to Stanley and begs him for help, but Stanley claims that he is no match for Gnorga's magic. Gus angrily accuses Stanley of being too scared to fight Gnorga and tells him that he will never have a dream come true if he's too scared to fight for what he believes in. Gus leaves to face Gnorga, along with several talking flowers and animals who have turned their backs on Stanley for his cowardice. Gus finds and frees Rosie from a kennel. Gnorga discovers Gus and transforms him into a troll while Rosie runs away and accidentally falls into a gorge, much to Gus's dismay. However, Stanley returns and uses the flying boat to save Rosie. Stanley steps forward and faces off with Gnorga in a thumb-wrestling match, which ends with Stanley getting the upper hand and causing roses to sprout on Gnorga's body. As Stanley, Gus and Rosie escape, Gnorga makes a last-ditch effort and takes control of Gus's thumb, using it to turn Stanley into stone. Gus and Rosie are thrown back into their apartment as the petrified Stanley is jettisoned into a garbage can. Gnorga declares her victory before it doesn't last long, as the last of Stanley's power fully transforms Gnorga into a rose bush as retribution, much to her shock and discomfort. Gnorga, Llort and her dog are sent away from New York by the same tornado, and by this undoing, it turns Gus back into a human. The next day, Gus, Rosie and their parents go to the obliterated Central Park, where Gus and Rosie place the Stanley statue on a makeshift pedestal. Gus briefly uses the green thumb he earned from his time as a troll and presses it against Stanley to seemingly no effect. As they leave, they turn around to find the troll revived and jolly as ever. Restored to life, the troll revives Central Park and turns New York into a beautiful green city, singing about his vision of the earth if everyone were to care for it.
Meanwhile, Llort has been made the new Troll King after Gnorga's transformation into a rose bush, the Troll Kingdom is finally made happy again, and the dog is more free to bite Llort than ever.
's lowest-grossing film to date (though not his film to lose the most money overall). Gary Goldman has said the reason for this was because the film was released without any sign of promotion and release was limited. He also stated that its distributor
Warner Bros.
did not have any confidence in the film. It currently has score of 0% at Rotten Tomatoes
based on five reviews. The film's score among the website community is higher, at 49%.
Don Bluth
Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated films such as The Secret of NIMH , An American Tail ,The Land Before Time , and All Dogs Go to Heaven ,...
and Gary Goldman
Gary Goldman
Gary Wayne Goldman is an American Film Producer, Director, Animator, Writer and voice actor, he is well known for working on films with Don Bluth like Anastasia, An American Tail and The Land Before Time...
, creators of films such as Thumbelina
Thumbelina (1994 film)
Thumbelina is a 1994 American animated film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman from a screenplay by Bluth based on Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina. The film was produced by Don Bluth Entertainment and was released to movie theaters by Warner Bros...
, The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time is a 1988 American animated adventure film directed and co-produced by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall....
, and All Dogs Go to Heaven
All Dogs Go to Heaven
All Dogs Go to Heaven is a 1989 Irish-English animated film directed and produced by Don Bluth and released by United Artists. The film tells the story of two dogs, Charlie B. Barkin and his loyal best friend Itchy Itchiford...
. It was released on October 7, 1994 by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment is the family film label of Warner Bros., established in 1992. It is best-known for producing numerous family films and television series in either live-action or animation .-History:The division was founded in 1992 to produce more family-friendly films.The first...
.
The film features the voice talents of Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
as Stanley, Phillip Glasser
Phillip Glasser
Phillip Glasser is an American actor and producer. He is best known for the role of Fievel Mousekewitz in the animated films, An American Tail and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, and the television series Fievel's American Tails.In the late 1990s he played the role of Eugene in NBC Saturday...
as Gus, Tawny Sunshine Glover
Tawny Sunshine Glover
Tawny Sunshine Glover is an American actress. She did voiceovers in two Don Bluth Movies. She was the voice of Gnatty in Thumbelina, and the voice of Rosie in A Troll in Central Park. It appears she hasn't done any more acting since.-Filmography:...
as Rosie, Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
as Queen Gnorga, Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
as Hilary, Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
as Alan and Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
as King Llort. It is the last Don Bluth film to star Dom DeLuise. The film did very poorly at the box office and was widely panned by critics.
Plot
The story begins in an area known as the "Kingdom of Trolls", where a trollTroll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
named Stanley (Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
) resides. Stanley has a magical green thumb that can make precious, beautiful flowers appear with a mere touch. Unfortunately, flowers are not allowed in the Kingdom of Trolls, forcing Stanley to hide any flowers he creates. In his house, Stanley speaks to his sentient flowers of his desire to complete his flower collection with a rose bush. That day, the other trolls become suspect of Stanley and take him to Gnorga (Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
), the Queen of the Trolls. Upon analyzing Stanley, Gnorga concludes that Stanley gives a bad name to trolls everywhere and demands that he be turned to stone. However, her husband consort, Llort (Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
), suggests that they instead banish Stanley to "a place of rock and steel where nothing grows". Gnorga immediately complies and sends Stanley off to Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. After many mishaps in New York, Stanley hides himself under a bridge.
Meanwhile, in a Manhattan apartment, two children named Gus and Rosie (Phillip Glasser
Phillip Glasser
Phillip Glasser is an American actor and producer. He is best known for the role of Fievel Mousekewitz in the animated films, An American Tail and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, and the television series Fievel's American Tails.In the late 1990s he played the role of Eugene in NBC Saturday...
and Tawny Sunshine Glover
Tawny Sunshine Glover
Tawny Sunshine Glover is an American actress. She did voiceovers in two Don Bluth Movies. She was the voice of Gnatty in Thumbelina, and the voice of Rosie in A Troll in Central Park. It appears she hasn't done any more acting since.-Filmography:...
) get ready to have some fun with their father (Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
) at Central Park, but he tells his son that he has a trial he's preparing for in a court, much to Gus's anger. Gus then asks his mother (Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
) to take him, but she tells him that she's going to an open house on Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
today. Both Alan and Hilary said goodbye and leave Gus and his baby sister Rosie with their nanny, Maria. Eventually, Gus quietly leaves the apartment, taking Rosie on his wagon with him to Central Park. While playing with Gus's toy boat, the kids accidentally find Stanley hidden in the cave under the bridge in Central Park, and he befriends them. When Gus tries to force Rosie to come home with him, Rosie begins to cry, which attracts the attention of Queen Gnorga. When she discovers that Stanley isn't miserable, she puts a spell on Gus that causes him to cry a raging sea to drown them all. Stanley saves the kids and himself by using his green thumb to turn Gus's toy motorboat into a larger boat for the trio and the talking flowers to ride in.
Queen Gnorga decides to destroy Stanley's happiness once and for all by obliterating Central Park with a rampant tornado. As Rosie and Gus decide to go home upon discovering the destruction, Gnorga arrives to kidnap Rosie. Gus goes to Stanley and begs him for help, but Stanley claims that he is no match for Gnorga's magic. Gus angrily accuses Stanley of being too scared to fight Gnorga and tells him that he will never have a dream come true if he's too scared to fight for what he believes in. Gus leaves to face Gnorga, along with several talking flowers and animals who have turned their backs on Stanley for his cowardice. Gus finds and frees Rosie from a kennel. Gnorga discovers Gus and transforms him into a troll while Rosie runs away and accidentally falls into a gorge, much to Gus's dismay. However, Stanley returns and uses the flying boat to save Rosie. Stanley steps forward and faces off with Gnorga in a thumb-wrestling match, which ends with Stanley getting the upper hand and causing roses to sprout on Gnorga's body. As Stanley, Gus and Rosie escape, Gnorga makes a last-ditch effort and takes control of Gus's thumb, using it to turn Stanley into stone. Gus and Rosie are thrown back into their apartment as the petrified Stanley is jettisoned into a garbage can. Gnorga declares her victory before it doesn't last long, as the last of Stanley's power fully transforms Gnorga into a rose bush as retribution, much to her shock and discomfort. Gnorga, Llort and her dog are sent away from New York by the same tornado, and by this undoing, it turns Gus back into a human. The next day, Gus, Rosie and their parents go to the obliterated Central Park, where Gus and Rosie place the Stanley statue on a makeshift pedestal. Gus briefly uses the green thumb he earned from his time as a troll and presses it against Stanley to seemingly no effect. As they leave, they turn around to find the troll revived and jolly as ever. Restored to life, the troll revives Central Park and turns New York into a beautiful green city, singing about his vision of the earth if everyone were to care for it.
Meanwhile, Llort has been made the new Troll King after Gnorga's transformation into a rose bush, the Troll Kingdom is finally made happy again, and the dog is more free to bite Llort than ever.
Cast
- Dom DeLuiseDom DeLuiseDominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
as Stanley: a good-natured troll who is gifted with the ability to create flowers, thanks to a literal "green thumb". - Phillip GlasserPhillip GlasserPhillip Glasser is an American actor and producer. He is best known for the role of Fievel Mousekewitz in the animated films, An American Tail and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, and the television series Fievel's American Tails.In the late 1990s he played the role of Eugene in NBC Saturday...
as Gus: a human who is angry that his parents are too busy to play with him. - Tawny Sunshine GloverTawny Sunshine GloverTawny Sunshine Glover is an American actress. She did voiceovers in two Don Bluth Movies. She was the voice of Gnatty in Thumbelina, and the voice of Rosie in A Troll in Central Park. It appears she hasn't done any more acting since.-Filmography:...
as Rosie, Gus' toddler sister. - Cloris LeachmanCloris LeachmanCloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
as Gnorga, the cruel, flower hating queen of the trolls. She has the ability to turn people to stone. - Charles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
as Llort, Gnorga's bumbling husband, who will do anything to keep his hot-tempered wife from getting angry. - Jonathan PryceJonathan PryceJonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
and Hayley MillsHayley MillsHayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
as Alan and Hillary, Gus and Rosie's parents.
Reception
The film met with extremely poor performance at the box-office, only grossing $71,368 domestically (with a budget of $23 million it grossed less than 0.33% of its budget), making it Don BluthDon Bluth
Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated films such as The Secret of NIMH , An American Tail ,The Land Before Time , and All Dogs Go to Heaven ,...
's lowest-grossing film to date (though not his film to lose the most money overall). Gary Goldman has said the reason for this was because the film was released without any sign of promotion and release was limited. He also stated that its distributor
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
did not have any confidence in the film. It currently has score of 0% at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on five reviews. The film's score among the website community is higher, at 49%.